From the Trash Heap
by DemonKittyAngel
Summary: Being eleven, Sabo is used to his presence being questioned. "Hey, kid," And there it is. "Where are the other two brats?" ...Huh? A survivor of Grey Terminal recognizes Sabo which sends him on an emotional tailspin to discover where he really comes from and if he still has something to go back to. ASL/Reunion/I-need-to-stop-emotionally-tormenting-my-characters (I will never stop)


_I own nothing._

 _This is the second ASL reunion I've posted and I have another that's coming up. I have a pattern and favorite characters. *shrug*_

 _For those of you waiting on chapter 6 of Letter to No One, have this to tide you over. Ace isn't cooperating in that fic.  
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Sabo swings his pipe in frustratingly familiar patterns around the training room lost in thought. It's amazing that he knows how to fight and gratifying that after a long year of healing and stretching he can move freely again but he doesn't know _why_. He was a noble, right? Why does he know how to fight? Why does a pipe of all things feel familiar in his hands?

"That's enough for today, Sabo." Hack calls. Sabo disagrees. His body tells him that the thirty matches and two hours of practice maneuvers are far less than what he's used to. When Hack had asked how many matches felt right Sabo had automatically said one hundred. It seemed like a nice round number so he never questioned it. He wanted to be stronger, faster, better – he wanted to be able to fight his foes head on and never need to run from his problems again.

He ignores Hack and keeps swinging.

His instructor heaves a sigh and turns to help another student. He knows by now that Sabo will continue regardless.

A few more minutes pass when a runner comes in with a missive for Hatch. They exchange the usual pleasantries but the guy keeps side-eyeing Sabo. The man is in his thirties or forties with a receding black hairline and a minor pot belly. His nose is square and flat and his portly fingers tap against his thigh in what is possibly a nervous habit or just a tick. It isn't important and Sabo has other things to do. He was the only child on the base full-time with the next oldest being fifteen. Other children passed through now and then but, it isn't unusual for Sabo to be questioned.

"Hey, kid," And there it is. "Where are the other two brats?"

Sabo stops and gives the man a completely dumbfounded look. "Huh?" Other brats?

"Yeah, those two brats you used to run around Grey Terminal with." He peers around as if expecting said 'brats' to side rush him.

Sabo can feel his heart pounding in his ears and it feels like the world is crushing him. He knew that some of the survivors of Grey Terminal had joined the Revolutionary Army but he was sure none of them would know him; he was a noble after all. But this… he had answers right in front of him and never knew it.

"You know me?" It's breathy and Sabo can barely hear himself over the looping thought that answers are right in front of him.

A patchy eyebrow is raised as the man looks down at him as if he's stupid. "Yeah, you and your little monster friends. You robbed me."

"…I did what?" Sabo doesn't believe it. This man from Grey Terminal not only knew him, but said that Sabo had robbed him? But, he was a noble! He had lived in High Town! Dragon said so! That's where Sabo had been escaping from!

The man crouches down. "Kid, are you ok?"

Sabo doesn't have an answer. This… this is great. He can finally know who he is. But it isn't great. He has a life here, a cause. But everything he knew about his past was wrong.

He was in Grey Terminal? When? Why? Robbing people? But that's not something a noble would do. Sabo wasn't most nobles, obviously, but how did that add up to him being in Grey Terminal?

Hack comes over after noticing Sabo's unnatural stillness and the man concernedly trying to get his attention. "Sabo, is everything all right?" No answer. "Treg, what happened?"

The man looks up at Hack and shrugs. "Don't know. Asked the kid where his friends were and he seemed surprised that I recognized him."

"You know him?" Hack asks in surprise.

"Well, yeah. There's not a lot from Grey Terminal who didn't know the Monster Trio." Treg replies simply. As if he hadn't just shattered Sabo's world. As if the one person they all knew didn't know them.

Hack puts his warm, comforting hand on Sabo's back and starts ushering him out of the room. "Treg, this is a very big deal. Sabo has amnesia and we only know his name because it was embroidered on his hat."

Teg follows them out of the training room as Hack leads them who knows where. Sabo can't keep track. "Amnesia? Like, he doesn't know who he is?"

"Exactly. He doesn't remember anything." They walk in silence for a few minutes before Hack give a few sturdy knocks to a nondescript brown door.

"Come in." Oh. They're going to see Inazuma, the one responsible for Sabo's mental health. Right. That makes sense.

At least something makes sense.

The situation is explained and Sabo takes a place on the short couch by the window. It's like a bubble of silence has separated him from reality; he doesn't quite feel the couch give way under him or the weight of the pipe being taken from him. He's sitting now, right? He had still been holding that?

Grey Terminal… He hadn't known that. He hadn't even considered it.

"Sabo." Inazuma places a gentle hand on his shoulder and he crashes back to reality. "Do you want to hear about your past?"

A wave of relief rushes through Sabo. He's so glad that Inazuma asked. Does Sabo want to know? Does he want to possibly remember what drove him to run away at age ten? Does he want to remember living among the horrible people who burnt down Grey Terminal without remorse?

Does he want to remember running around Grey Terminal with the 'other brats' and robbing people?

Sabo doesn't know what to make of the disconnected pieces of his past but he wants to. He wants to know.

He nods firmly in determination and Inazuma steps aside so that Sabo can see Treg standing awkwardly by the desk.

He clears his throat. "Well, uh, I don't know much about you. You were around the Terminal for a few years, running around with the other brat, mugging people and building up a 'pirate fund' you called it. We all knew about you boys, more or less. You were monstrously strong and would pick fights just for the hell of it sometimes. 'Bout half a year before the fire, another little boy joined you, younger. You guys seemed happier with him. Lighter. It used to be just glares and mean snickers but after he came along you two started acting like normal kids. That was about the time you started living up on Mt. Corbo with them, instead of in the Terminal. I know you guys would head into Edge Town from time to time but other than that…" He shrugs. "Others could tell you more." He turns to Hack, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm assuming the other boys aren't here?"

"No. Sabo was alone."

But Sabo isn't listening anymore. He had lived in Grey Terminal. He had friends. Something tickled at the very back of his mind, aggravating Sabo with his own inability to remember. He had lived in Grey Terminal for _years_ Treg said. _Years_. But Sabo had definitely been in High Town when Dragon found him.

How did this happen?

Was Sabo not a noble?

Then why was he in High Town?

And if he was a noble, why had he lived in Grey Terminal?

Treg looked down at him in pity. "Poor kid. Those three were inseparable." Sabo feels agony burst in his chest. Something about there being three of them and the implication that the other two could be dead make his heart seize and his mind go blank. Something is screaming, trying to reach Sabo but he can't make it out. "If you want, I could ask around with other survivors and see if anyone knows more."

"That would be appreciated." Hack answers.

Inazuma, noticing his distress, kneels next to him. "Sabo, are you ok?"

Sabo doesn't answer right away, straining for the rest of their conversation.

"If the other boys are dead, it might be best if the kid just doesn't know."

"That's for Sabo to decide."

Sabo isn't sure what he'd decide. "Yeah, I'm ok." His answer is lackluster. What else could he say? It's not like he remembered and all he had were innumerable questions he hadn't even considered before.

Treg leaves to ask his questions and Sabo takes the rest of the morning off, thinking over the new revelations.

A few days later, Hack asks Sabo if he wants to hear more about his past in Grey Terminal. They found someone who knew a decent amount about him, even about his arrival in Grey Terminal. That clinched it for Sabo. He had to know – had to understand how a noble ended up in a trash heap and then back in High Town.

A meeting was set up that evening with Inazuma, Hack and even Dragon, who wanted to sit in. Sabo wouldn't say that Dragon was like a father to him but, he had been the one to find him, rescue him, and support him ever since. He was Sabo's mentor and it comforted him to know that Dragon would support him here as well.

The man Hack brought up was old, in his sixties, and worked in the shipyard. His white hair was thin but held in a strong ponytail that bared his weathered freckles and down turned nose. The man speaks about him in third person instead of directly to him like Treg and it's a relief.

"The first time I saw the boy, he was still fairly new. He was past being a toddler, maybe five or six, and written off as some unfortunate orphan from Edge Town. His clothes were much too fancy even under all the grime he'd accumulated and I thought he looked more like a noble who'd come to check out the trash than a new resident." The account is straightforward but well worded. Sabo briefly wonders if this man told any stories. He would be good at it.

"When he was still around a couple weeks later, no one thought much of it. People came and went in Grey Terminal and if he hadn't been so young or finely dressed, no one would have given him a second glance. Now, it was when he teamed up with the other boy that everyone took notice. The other boy, Ace, came from the forest and we would see him around from time to time. We figured he was the child of some bandits living on the mountain."

Something tickles in the back of Sabo's brain, an urge to correct the man, but he doesn't know what he'd correct him with so he holds his tongue.

"The two of them teamed up and started raising hell. Within a couple years it was well known that they were saving up a pirate fund and were much stronger than a pair of seven year olds had a right to be. They'd pick fights with anyone; mostly Ace – and it was easier to hand your find over than wait for those two to beat you up.

"The mountain boy would ask this strange question, 'What if the Pirate King had a son?' With how much he wanted to be a pirate, I always figured he didn't have a father and wished his dad could be some sort of hero. He got the expected answer that the Gold Roger was a monster and if he had a child they would be a blight on the world. The kid would go ballistic and trash them."

Something about the question is wrong. Or maybe it's the assumption. Sabo doesn't know but he feels an even stronger urge to correct the man.

"Things were more or less the same for the next few years until the little one showed up. That was quite the day. Ace had stolen from the pirate Bluejam and his enforcer Porchemy was tearing up Grey Terminal looking for those two to get their money back. They went looking in the woods for a bit and came back carrying this tiny kid who kept yelling for Ace to help him and that he wouldn't say where the treasure was. Kid lasted under torture for hours until you two brats finally rescued him."

The accusing eyes scorch Sabo and it matches an ache in his heart that says he messed up. He messed up _so bad_ and regrets something with all his soul.

Had he left a kid to get tortured? And over just some simple treasure?

Maybe he was a noble deep down after all if he had such messed up priorities.

Seeing that Sabo looks properly ashamed, the man carries on. "After that, the blonde one ran off to live in the woods with the other two and if you saw one, the others were nearby. The both of them were happier with the little one, Luffy. They went from raging against the world to protecting him and it was a good change. More of a joyful chaos."

"It was a few days before the fire that a confrontation happened with Bluejam. Guards from High Town were there and the monster trio, as they were called. No one I talked to knows exactly what happened, we all avoided the guards when they came around, but after that the blond one was gone and the little kid kept complaining that he missed Sabo."

Sabo. He missed Sabo. A kid missed _him_ , _Sabo_.

…Sabo had a kid who missed him?

"Did-" Sabo cuts off, not sure he wants to know. "Did they make it out ok?"

Blue eyes soften in sympathy and Sabo wants to run away. "I'm sorry. No one knows what happened to them. Until now, no one knew what happened to you either."

He tries to console himself. He really does. They lived on the mountain, there's no guarantee they were there. Tears gather in his eyes and scrubs at them viciously. There's no reason to cry. There's no reason to _hurt_ over two boys he can't remember and may not have even known. He shouldn't hurt.

But he _does_.

He thinks of two boys with black hair (and why is that his assumption?) who smile at him with acceptance and the brief image of him screaming at a gate for someone to be safe won't leave him alone and the thought they could be gone, even though he doesn't know who they are, sears his heart.

This… this can't… It's not like he has any reason to care. It's just basic human decency and sympathy saying that it's horrible that two kids, around his age, might have perished in the blaze to purify Goa Kingdom. It's an outrage, not personal. It's not like it hurts him more than anyone else.

He swallows down the lump in his throat. It doesn't.

Dragon speaks, low and even. "Did you say the younger boy was named Luffy?"

"Yes. I remember because anytime he got hurt the older boys would start yelling for whoever to 'leave Luffy alone'. "

Dragon offers a nod. "Then he's fine."

Something in Sabo's chest loosens and he looks up in wonder. This is real. This is Dragon, his mentor, saying that Luffy was a real person and ok and that Sabo might have someone who missed him and that he might want to go back to.

"That's good." The old man relaxes slightly in relief. "He was a good kid, happy. We figured all the kids were safe on the mountain somewhere but after seeing Sabo, a few of us were worried. They were just kids; they didn't deserve a world that would do this to them."

Sabo wants to ask about the other boy, the one asking about the Pirate King, but no one brings him up and Sabo is too scared of the answer to do so himself.

They ask Sabo if he has anymore questions. He simply shakes his head, overwhelmed. The old man says that Sabo can come find him if he wants and he nods absently.

He heads to bed, head spinning around his supposed life. It doesn't feel like him. He doesn't remember it. But certain things like the other boys and the guilt of abandoning someone (but that doesn't make sense; Sabo isn't that kind of person) are too much a part of him to let go and even though he wants to deny it, it doesn't work. It does and doesn't make sense and Sabo knows even less about himself than before. Or does he know more but is too lost among the missing pieces? After all, a blank slate is a blank slate but, a puzzle with a handful of disconnected pieces has no shape or discernible design – just a promise that something was there.

Sabo doesn't understand and he doesn't like it. None of it.

The meeting with the High Town guards. Had Sabo already run away and that was when he ended up back in High Town? Is that why he had been so distraught when he'd talked to Dragon? Because his family was there?

Family?

Where had that come from?

Sabo thinks of two black haired boys but everything is fuzzy and his head starts to pound. He's barely going to sleep tonight, he just knows it.

And for whatever reason, he wishes someone was snoring next to him just so he knows he's not alone.

When they ask him a couple days later if he might want to go to Dawn and visit Luffy (the left out Ace speaks volumes) he doesn't know what to say.

He waits another week before deciding that he has to go. This damn puzzle won't leave him alone and if this is all true, if he has someone waiting for him; a small, stupid child who needs Sabo to keep him safe (and damn that thought for sticking in his damaged head! He doesn't know this kid! He doesn't know that he's small or stupid or even that he needs protection but it feels right and the description just won't go away); Sabo should really go. For the kid's sake if nothing else.

Inazuma and a couple others man a small boat to take him to Dawn Island. They'll stay for three days and at that point, Sabo will have to choose whether to stay with the Revolutionary Army or to return to his life in the mountains.

Sabo doesn't know what he wants.

It takes a month to reach Dawn and every day Sabo fights a battle with himself. Sometimes he stands at the helm, desperate to reach his homeland and find two boys he felt incomplete without and sometimes he hides in the storeroom, bemoaning what a terrible idea this was and wanting to turn back.

His dreams are shadowy and leave only vague impressions; nothing concrete enough to piece together his past life and it drives him up the wall. Some dreams are happy, usually reminding him of the two boys. Others are cold as wind batters him and leaves him shivering – he believes this is Grey Teminal. The worst are the ones that leave him feeling isolated: those are the ones he knows are of High Town and the life he'd run from.

Would he remember once he got to Dawn? Would the other boys forgive him for not knowing?

A large part of him screamed out that 'yes, they would always understand!' and a smaller part said that 'Ace will never understand – he can't'.

The following thought that Ace may not even be there was a ball and chain, constantly dragging in the back of his mind.

If the little one was alone would he be ok?

Sabo was sure he wouldn't.

And then he would remind himself that he was getting lost in a fantasy and making up things about these boys because a couple survivors of Grey Terminal thought they knew him. He was just being childish and dreaming up a family. (He doesn't reprimand himself for this thought. A family of choice was a comforting idea from the family he knew he'd run from.)

These highs and lows grew worse the closer they got to Dawn Island and by the time they dock, Sabo is nothing but a ball of nerves who doesn't know if he's desperate to run into or away from the woods. They settle down shore from Grey Terminal (or the remains thereof) in front of a pebbled shore that gives way to thick trees and patchy grass.

This is it. This is (home?) This is…

This is time to stop thinking.

Inazuma follows him into the woods. They don't have a clear destination, only somewhere on Mt. Corbo so they head in that direction and hope that they're going the right way. When a giant wolf crosses their path, Sabo immediately swings his pipe around and it feels familiar, like he's done this a hundred times. When he's standing over the downed threat, he smiles and turns to boast to someone only to find Inazuma watching him.

His face falls. That's not who he's looking for.

He doesn't know who it should be.

They keep walking, on and on with no discernible pattern… Sabo wonders if he's just getting them lost and they're all wasting time. It would be just his luck for this to be nothing but a wild goose chase. Or maybe without his memories he was destined never to make it back?

No. no. no. Sabo is here and he will find his brothers. (Brothers? He had thought 'family' before but not brothers. It made sense though, two boys around his age…)

Maybe it was just the familiarity of being in these woods and taking down a (small) wolf. Small? That was not small. But calling it large felt laughable. He knew there were giant animals on the Grand Line but this was the East Blue! Clearly he'd been reading too many books on the animals of the Grand Line and lost perspective.

Except this wasn't something he'd _read_ , it was something he'd _fought_ and even though he was proud to have taken it down himself, it didn't feel like a huge challenge.

They continued on with no true destination in mind. Sabo became increasingly paranoid as they found nothing but more trees and it was almost noon already. He questioned if there was any point in being here. They weren't finding anything and there was no one waiting for him!

Sabo decides that he'd give it one more hour. One more useless hour for this useless endeavor before just leaving. There was nothing here for him and it was stupid to come in the first place!

Angrily marching through a few more trees, something in the back of his head tells him to look up. His mouth drops open in shock and he stops dead. Inazuma almost steps on him but avoids it at the last second and follows his charge's gobsmacked gaze. There's a tree house; a damaged piece of construction that sits amongst sturdy branches, calling for him. A flash of smiling faces and a view of the entire island strikes Sabo and an unbidden "Home" passes his lips.

He scrambles up the tree to the rope ladder made of uneven planks that starts twenty feet up and tears into the single room like it holds all the answers in the world.

It doesn't.

Silence bores down on him as the cloud of dust he'd kicked up settles back into the grey blanket coating the tree house. His spirits fall and he has to scrunch his face up to ward off the incoming tears. It's fine. It wasn't like he'd expected to find smiling faces welcoming him back. He already knew that Ace might not be here anymore and if Luffy needed them to protect him, he probably wasn't here anymore either.

He _knows_ that.

But it doesn't matter; Sabo walks into the bright room, observing dancing clouds of dust knocked up with every step, swirling in the sunlight, and aches at the emptiness. On the wall, he spots a net with three sake cups (an oath to become brothers!) and a drawing of three boys standing on a defeated bear, differentiated by hats. The black top hat with a blue scribble that's probably his goggles makes it all real. This was him. This was where he belonged.

But where are they?

Inazuma comes up behind him and the two spend a while picking through the forgotten belongings and abandoned memories. Sabo sits on one of the blankets, laid out so heads lie together, and stares at the other two, wishing faces would clear up. He sees a sunshine smile and freckles but they're vague impressions.

He's _so close_.

Reminding himself to stay calm, he takes a deep breath and tells Inazuma that he has an idea of where to go.

The walk through the woods this time is better, lighter. Sabo lets his subconscious guide him and he knows that he's going somewhere important instead of the lost wandering of this morning. They cross a decrepit bridge and for a heart stopping moment, Sabo almost dives for a missing plank seeing a little boy dropping through and another boy diving after him. He blinks and the snow and boys disappear, just a memory. He pushes on, only the slightest hesitation having been present in his step. The impression of that sunshine smile and annoyance at the boy not being more concerned about the danger he was in reassure him that everything turned out fine.

Sabo slows as he nears a clearing, heart beating in his ears, scared of what he might find. Will they both be there? Will they be happy to see him?

… will they remember him?

He shakes it off and asks Inazuma to stay behind as he approaches the first of two unfamiliar shacks in front of him. He freezes when he notices a boy his age leaned against it, knees held tight to his chest and gaze shadowed by shaggy hair.

Ace.

Ace is here and alive and right in front of him.

Weight sheds from his heart at knowing that Ace is alright and if Ace is alright, then Luffy is just fine too.

"Ace."

He looks up only far enough to see Sabo's shoes.

"Sabo, I'm…" his breath hitches and everything about this screams wrong wrong wrong. "I'm so sorry. I fucked up."

That doesn't seem right at all. No 'where have you been' or 'you're alive' just, 'I'm sorry.' Sorry for what?

"I- I thought Luffy could handle it! I was so sure that he could win and now he's-" a mangled wail of distress says more than words ever could. Sabo's eyes widen in fear. What happened? What was wrong with Luffy?

"What happened?" The words only carry the slightest hint of worry. It couldn't be that bad – Ace wouldn't let anything 'that bad' happen.

Ace also doesn't act like this.

"I thought Luffy could handle it. Luffy's gotten stronger and stronger since you died; I thought he could handle it! I'm so-" He strangles the oncoming words in his throat and buries his eyes in his knees.

Sabo freezes, struck by the realization that Ace thinks he's a hallucination. He thinks Sabo's not actually here and _that_ is the only reason Ace is showing such weakness.

"Ace…" Sabo steps forward, not sure how to knock his brother out of it. Luffy is hurt and Ace is showing weakness – Sabo doesn't know what to say. All he has are the names of two boys he holds only a shadow of a remembrance of; what can he say?

Words failing him, he crouches next to Ace and puts a hand on his shoulder.

Eyes snap to the hand on his shoulder and Sabo has to readjust his balance. A freckled face slowly lifts to meet Sabo's eyes and fear shines blindingly in stormy grey.

"Sabo don't- don't take him from me!" Ace clutches the lapels of Sabo's coat and drags him closer, begging. "You can't take Luffy with you, not yet! I need him! I know I've been a bad brother and I swear I'll do better just don't–"

Sabo tries to get Ace to let go. "Ace. Ace! I'm not a ghost! I'm real!"

"R- real?" Shock looks wrong on the freckled face and Sabo wants it to go away and fall back into a perpetual scowl.

Perpetual scowl?

Not now.

"Yes Ace, I'm real and I'm here. I came back. Now what's wrong with Luffy?" Panic surges like a rising storm. If Ace thought a ghost might be coming to take Luffy away, it must be bad. Really bad. But Ace wouldn't let that happen!

"Sabo… ?" Small fingers trace the lines of his face annoying him but not the way it would be if anyone else was doing this. His scar is outlined hesitantly and they both know: this is what should have killed him. "Sabo, you- You're really here!" It's all the warning he gets before being crushed to his brother's too thin frame. Are those his ribs? Mountain living was tough; even for a hunter as good as Ace.

As suddenly as the hug starts, Sabo is being shoved away again and then dragged into the compound. "You have to come see Luffy! It's- it's bad. It's really bad. I tried to have him fight a bear because I thought he could handle it but he couldn't and now he's-…" Ace stops walking for a second, eyes glued to the ground. "He might die."

Sabo can feel the mountain drop out from under him. That- that can't be. This can't happen! Sabo only just got back and he could lose his little brother before he ever reunites with him! This can't happen!

Ace guides him by the hand, several men gawking at Sabo as they pass by. He ignores them – there is nothing more important than seeing Luffy right now. A humungous woman with bushy, orange hair smoking at the dining table slots into his mind as the leader of these bandits as her cigar falls from shocked lips.

Luffy. He has to see Luffy.

Standing outside the door to their room, Ace squeezes his hand tighter. In reassurance? To remind himself that Sabo is here? In preparation?

The door opens and Sabo never could have prepared himself.

A small (tiny, _so tiny_ ) figure is laid out on a futon, blanket drawn to his chin. He's still, _so still_ (never still, not even asleep) that Sabo has to search for the slight rise and fall of his chest to make sure that he's breathing. Ace guides him over and Sabo numbly kneels next to him. His skin is pale (healthy tan), crescent scar a stark contrast (warm accent). His (brown with the slightest hint of gold) eyes are shut and Sabo gently takes the cold (warm, always wonderfully warm) hand and cradles it in his own.

Ace is at the foot of the futon, slouched against the wall, unwavering gaze drinking Luffy in like it might be the last time. Sabo stares at him until the freckled boy finally gives him answers.

"They say he still might not make it. I got him here as fast as I could but it might not be enough." He pushes himself away from the wall and carefully pulls the blanket down so that Sabo can see the bandages soaked with red across the small boy's stomach. "He was gutted."

Sabo's breath hitches and his eyes are glued to the seeping wound.

"They say that he could have an infection or that it could _get_ infected or that Lu may just not be able to recover." He tucks the blanket back in lovingly and Sabo just wants to know how he ever could have let this happen.

They sit in silence, Ace once again holding vigil against the wall and Sabo switches sides at one point to warm Luffy's other hand. When a miniscule groan signals awakening, they both inch forward, eager to reassure themselves that Luffy will pull through.

"Ngh, Ace? My stomach hurts." He blinks his eyes open, searching for his brother. (Luffy doesn't wake up slow – he jumps up and starts badgering them to start the day.)

"Of course it hurts, Lu. That bear did a number on you." Ace creeps forward and takes Luffy's opposite hand. "I'm sorry."

"Why is Ace sorry? He already said sorry about the bear."

It's so innocent and sweet, Sabo almost wants to chuckle in relief. Instead he offers a small smile and squeezes Luffy's hand. "It's because Ace is an idiot."

Luffy, finally noticing something off, looks down at his hands and counts two pairs holding his. He slowly moves owlish eyes to look at Sabo and his heart breaks a little at the pure wonder and amazement of seeing him again. This moment made the trip worth it. This moment is something Sabo will treasure for the rest of his life.

"Sabo…" His name is said in such awe he almost wants to cry. He was _wanted_. He was _needed_. He had a family who _loved him_.

"Yeah Luffy, I'm here. Sorry it took so long to come back." He gives a small grin, trying to be light hearted.

Luffy's eyes light up in excitement like he's just been given the best present ever and suddenly flings himself at Sabo.

"Sabo! SaboSaboSabo!" His clothes are slowly being coated with blood and he's panicking over what kind of damage the sudden movement has done to his precious, _precious_ baby brother but without his consent, his arms are wrapped around Luffy and his face is buried in soft raven spikes.

"LuffyLuffyLuffy. I'm back. I'm so sorry. I'm here. Luffy." He mutters on and on. It doesn't matter that he can't remember a damn thing about this boy. His heart knows that Luffy is the most beautiful thing to happen in his life and that he loves him more than he loves himself.

Ace breaks up the moment, forcing Luffy to lie down. "Luffy, I know it's Sabo, but you have to stay still! You'll make things worse!" With many reassurances, Luffy finally lies back down, positively twitching in excitement.

"Ne, Ace! Sabo is here! He undied!" He happily exclaims.

"That's not a word, doofus." Ace reprimands. Sabo expects a fist to land on Lu's head but it makes sense that it doesn't. Ace would never hurt Lu worse than he already is. Never.

Luffy looks back up at him, pain lying behind his curious expression. "Sabo, where did you go?"

He cringes. Will they be mad? Will they accept a brother who doesn't know them? Will Ace deck him? He glances at his freckled brother and occupies himself by playing with Luffy's fingers. "When my ship got blown up, I was saved by Dragon the Revolutionary. He took me with him to their base in Baltigo and I've been recovering for the past year. It was close; very close."

Sabo doesn't want to say the rest, not yet, but Ace doesn't let it go. "Why didn't you write?" His voice is hard with anger and Sabo has to refrain from flinching. "You wrote us a good-bye but you couldn't let us know you were ok?"

He stops playing with Lu's fingers, gently cupping the small hand instead. They might send him away after this. They might not want him.

"Ace I… I didn't remember." He looks up at his brother, pleading for him to understand with careful, measured words. "When I woke up, I didn't know who I was. The only clues we had to my identity were the name 'Sabo' embroidered on my hat and an encounter I had had with Dragon that let me know I was a noble who hated the nobility. When they talked about sending me back I said 'no' because I was petrified at the thought of being sent back to my parents. I…"

And this was the hard part; the _worst_ part. He averted his eyes, focusing on his thumb running over tiny fingers. "I… I still don't remember. One of the people rescued from Grey Terminal recognized me and asked about you two. I- I didn't know what to think; what to do. When I heard that someone might still be here, looking for me…" He trails off, not willing to talk about his indecision. Not when he's finally _home_ with his _brothers_ and the world is finally righting itself.

"You… don't remember?" Ace scopes in on the present tense and Sabo can't stop the cringe in his shoulders this time.

"Yeah, I- I don't remember. Even now." Grey eyes start shutting off and Sabo **won't** let that happen – he _**can't**_. "But that's not important! Even though I don't remember, I **know** you! I know you and Luffy and that you're the most important things in the world to me! I know that the tree house is 'home' and that Dadan is only sort of our caretaker and that without Luffy, our lives would have _never_ been truly happy! It doesn't _matter_ that I don't know the details, I can feel it, _with every fiber of my being_ that this is where I belong and _**I'm so sorry**_ I ever left!"

Grey eyes waver in indecision but Luffy has no such qualms.

"Sabo doesn't remember us?" He looks so sad that Sabo can't think of a more effective way to tear his heart out but, a light switches on and suddenly Lu's beaming. "Then we'll just have to remind you!" He grins back and forth between his big brothers, Sabo smiling in relief and love.

God, Luffy… just… Just fricken Luffy.

He looks at Ace for the final decision. Luffy was always going to accept him, Sabo knew that. But Ace isdifferent. Ace isdefensive and doesn't let people in easily. Having what is essentially a stranger wearing his brother's face is not going to be easy for him but, finally, after a wash of pain swirls behind grey clouds, he nods and grips Luffy's hand tighter.

Sabo sags in relief.

He's _home_. He's been accepted _home_. He's finally _home_ , right where he belongs.

* * *

 _._

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 _._

 _So, I've always wondered: some of the survivors of Gery Terminal joined the Revolutionary Army, right? So why didn't one of them recognize Sabo and say something?_

 _Thus: a fic was born._

 _For the moment this is a one shot. I have other big fics that I'm working on and if I write more in this it would be more snippets than anything - just clips of their lives. (Maybe they stay on Dawn, maybe they go to Baltigo, maybe they end up assassins. I'm not telling you.)_

 _For this story: Sabo **does not** and **will never** remember. He'll have instinctual responses and know what's important but he will never have a full set of memories._

 _How's that for bitter sweet?_

 _Please review and let me know what you think of this au. Was it a good way for Sabo to find his way back? Can you see this happening? Where do you think they should go? I'd really love to hear your thoughts even if it's just 'I enjoyed this because ###.' Or improvements I could make._


End file.
